Customizing and Deploying Office 2007

To configure any of these settings, you can uncomment the sample lines in the default config.xml file by removing the "!<--" before the XML element and the "-->" after the element. You can then configure the attribute of the element. Also, be very careful about the case sensitivity of elements and attributes. Even some values seem to be case sensitive, despite documentation to the contrary, so it's best to just assume that everything is case sensitive.

You probably won't need to tweak config .xml. If you do, consider storing your customized configuration file in a folder dedicated to customizations, configure the DistributionPoint element, and use the /config switch on the setup.exe command to point to the file.

Step 6: Deploy office 2007
So, you've created a network installation source by copying the product's CD-ROMs or DVDs and updates to a folder; you've configured at least one Setup customization file with the OCT; and you've made any necessary changes to config.xml. To launch an Office 2007 installation from a client, simply run setup.exe from the network installation point. (You can also copy the contents of your network installation point to a custom CD-ROM or DVD.) Use the /adminfile switch to point to your Setup customization file, unless you have only one and you've stored it in the Updates folder, in which case it will be detected automatically. Use the /config switch to point to your configuration file—your tweaked config.xml file—unless you changed the default config.xml file in the product folder (e.g., Enterprise.WW).

Now, how do you push the installation out to multiple clients? According to Microsoft, you simply "run setup.exe on each client computer." But what does that entail, exactly? You need to have Windows Installer 3.1 (which has been available as a required Windows Update for quite some time) or later installed on each system, and the user who launches setup .exe must be an administrator on the local machine.

If a user is an administrator, Microsoft suggests using an automated method to execute setup.exe, such as a logon script. In another set of documents, Microsoft suggests using software-deployment mechanisms such as SMS to deploy Office 2007. For those of you with SMS, see the Microsoft article "Using Systems Management Server 2003 to deploy the 2007 Office system" at http://technet2.microsoft.com/Office/en-us/library/e3d7be86-d739-413f-8196-817899eceb771033.mspx.

Although three previous versions of Office could be deployed through Group Policy software installation, Office 2007 can't. Now, you might hear that you can use Group Policy to deploy Office 2007, and Microsoft even has documents discussing the methodology. But I can tell you from lots of testing that deploying Office 2007 with Group Policy isn't a practical option even if it's a technical option: It just doesn't support the kind of functionality and customization that organizations need. Microsoft has in fact pulled documentation detailing the Group Policy deployment of Office 2007 from its Web site, which could be a sign that Microsoft is disavowing support for that option.

So, polish up your scripting, be creative, or shell out for a commercial-grade software-deployment tool. Run setup.exe by using credentials with Administrator- or System-level capabilities. Use the /config switch to point to a custom configuration file, and the /adminfile switch to point to a custom Setup customization file (.msp file).

In a future article, I'll share some specific guidance and workarounds that will help you deploy Office 2007 without SMS. I'll even share insights into the limited circumstances under which you can deploy Office 2007 using Group Policy.

Let Microsoft Know
While you wait to read the upcoming article, contact Microsoft. Share your thoughts about the Office team disavowing an important Windows technology and creating a deployment scenario that requires administrative credentials or additional tools. Whether the lack of support for native software-deployment technologies is a showstopper for you (and it won't be once you read the future article), Microsoft needs to be reminded by its customers that it should be playing by its own rules, and fully supporting key technologies across product groups.